Tools & Techniques

Role of the Mediator

Mediators assist parties to negotiate more effectively. Mediators do not make decisions about who is right or wrong or what the best outcome should be. A key advantage to mediation is that the parties have significant control over the end result. Decision-making power stays in the parties’ hands, and is not passed on to a judge or arbitrator. Instead, a mediator helps bring the parties together (“convening”) by establishing a framework for the negotiation within which all parties agree to participate. Professional mediators hold as a matter of ethics that mediators should have no direct interest in the outcome of the dispute and should take no position on what the terms of settlement should be, i.e. that they should be neutral.

• How Do Mediators Help?
• How Do You Know When You Need a Mediator?
• Selecting a Mediator